During the school and academic years of my life I used to have a number of fountain pens, that were not in service for quite a lot time. Proper use, storage and maintenance of these fine instruments were not my top priorities, but fortunately the late years managed to find some time and get engaged with them again. As I now retreive them from various places of my house, I fing that some of them appear significant ink/moisture condensation inside the cap. I tried to flush them under fresh rinsing water and remove the solid remains of ink, and had the cap dried for 24h, with the help of gravity (did not feel comfortable enough, so to use the ...hair dryer!)

The results were not satisfactory. When I placed the pen into the cap, the grip wasn't spotless, and so started almost from the very beggining...

Any suggestions, for overcoming this drying issue? Thanks in advance...

After I clean caps, barrel etc. I dry them with some kitchen paper and then leave them to dry for quite some time. Sometimes up to a week, but that is caused more by my own pace then by necessity. ^_^

The best way for me is to flick the wet caps to fling the moisture away. If you're dealing with ink, make sure you have the opening wrapped in tissue when flicking it (otherwise you'll get ink stains all over the walls )

I have used cotton buds to wipe off excess moisture in caps as well in the past with OK results

I have the same "problem" with my 1911m demonstrator. I found that just wiping the inside with a cotton swab gets rid of it for a while. Make sure you don't keep it next to a heat source...that is usually what causes the condensation.

Hello Tassos,

I use a short knap cotton towel, something like the table linens you use to wrap hot biscuits in, then to get into tight places like the interior of a cap, I use Q-Tips, (I think this is just what mysta rave recommended, only using generic terms); then I let everything air dry for 48 to 72 hours.

Best wishes,

Sean




* Edit: Paranthetical remark added.